The Three Kings: A Royal Coincidence

There are many fascinating aspects to the history of popular music, and one of the most fascinating of all is the existence of some unbelievable coincidences.

The following is a tale of three individuals, all born within around a decade of each other in the Southern United States, who share two very distinct qualities. Firstly, they are three of the greatest Blues guitarists to have ever lived, and are considered three of the most important and influential pioneers of the genre. And secondly, if that wasn’t enough, they all share the very regal surname. This is The Three Kings: A Royal Coincidence.

B.B. King (1925 – 2015)

Born as Riley B. King in 1925, ‘Blues Boy’ King was a child of the Mississippi Delta who, like many other Blues musicians to emerge from this period, began life as a hard labourer in a cotton factory. It was in the small city of Indianola where, in his formative years, he would hear the sounds of the Delta Blues emanating from nightclubs and street corners. Combining these influences with his time spent in a local church gospel choir, he began to develop a passion for music, and more specifically, the guitar.

Moving to Memphis in his early twenties, King soon fell in with a crowd of other Bluesmen, and was given his break performing on a local radio show. A master of bending the strings, King could make one note sound like four. Through his string bending, he would become one of the pioneers of vibrato, a technique by which a guitarist alters the pitch of the notes, to give the guitar a humanistic quality, making it sing, and this King certainly did. He turned the guitar into one of the most versatile instruments and accompanied by his soothing vocals, he was able to create a collection of blues masterpieces that have led him to worldwide fame and acclaim.

Such tracks that really demonstrate the genius of B.B. King include the upbeat Why I Sing The Blues, where his powerful vocals steal the show, or Whole Lotta Love, where he lets his guitar do the talking. But in possibly his most well known track, 1969’s The Thrill is Gone, he demonstrates a move away from his earlier work. Featuring an orchestral string accompaniment, the song is an immaculate and polished production that marks a real maturity in his music, all while featuring his trademark string bending technique, making him truly stand out from the rest.

B.B. King has gone on to influence a huge number of guitarists, such as Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, but it is perhaps his relationship with Eric Clapton that is most well publicised. The two collaborated on the 2000 album, Ridin’ With the King, where songs such as Three O’Clock Blues proved to any doubters that King still had it, by then in his mid seventies.

Certainly the most well known of the Three Kings, B.B. King has left an impressive legacy. He is one of the greatest guitarists of all time, let alone within the Blues genre, and had the ability to take Blues to the masses, almost single handedly transforming the genre. A true lover of music, he continued to tour into his eighties and with a career lasting an impressive seven decades, he is one of the most enduring exponents of Blues guitar.

Albert King (1923 – 1992)

The eldest of the Three Kings, Albert King was born in 1923, in Indianola Mississippi, the same town a young B.B. King would also call home. Born on a cotton plantation, like his fellow King he would develop an interest in music through his participation in a church gospel group, as well as experiencing the sounds of The Blues in the cotton fields.

Albert and B.B. King may have even crossed paths in their adolescence. In later interviews Albert went as far to suggest that he was in fact B.B.’s half-brother. Later records have shown this to be inaccurate; rather this was an attempt to associate more closely with B.B., who by the early 1950s had left Mississippi and was beginning to carve out his music career, unlike Albert.

Similarly to B.B., it was upon his move away from the Delta where Albert King got his first real start, playing for a brief time with contemporary Bluesman Jimmy Reed. After bouncing around the touring circuit of various Midwestern cities for a number of years, King’s patience would pay off as he began to draw attention in the mid 1960s. His 1967 Album Born Under A Bad Sign is now considered a seminal Blues album, in which King played the blues with a not-so subtle undertone of Rock. This endeared him to audiences of both Blues and Rock, and made him a household name within the genres.

In accompanying the deep, dramatic sound of his guitar, he possessed a smooth signing voice, which in contrast to his large stature, earned him the nickname him ‘The Velvet Bulldozer.’ King demonstrates a guitar master-class on songs such as The Hunter and Kansas City. But it is on the album’s title track, Born Under A Bad Sign, where he gives arguably his greatest performance. This song is a true Blues classic and marks out Albert King as possibly the strongest vocalist of the Three Kings. At one point during the track (a song about his troubled upbringing) King reinforces his lyrics uttering "that ain't no lie." Perhaps just a spur of the moment, this might also be a reference to the false claims he had previously made about his relationship with B.B. King.

Despite whatever claims King made, and his shameless efforts to associate with his once superior namesake, he would eventually cement his position as a master of guitar in his own right. He brought audiences of Blues and Rock together and despite his difficult start, he is proof that patience and perseverance does pay off in the music world. Of Albert King’s wild claims, B.B. once remarked, “he went around saying he was my brother. That bothered me until I got to know him and realised he was right; he wasn’t my brother by blood, but he sure was my brother in the blues." B.B. couldn't have been more right, and the very fact that these two guitar masters are not related only serves to make the coincidence of The Three Kings ever more fascinating.

Freddie King (1934 – 1976)

The youngest of the Three Kings, Freddie King, born in 1934, is the only King not to originate from the Mississippi Delta. Hailing from the small town of Gilmer, Texas, he was introduced to the guitar at a young age by his family, and like his namesakes, Freddie King’s music career really begun upon leaving his hometown.

Relocating from Texas to Chicago as a teenager, an underage King started to sneak into nightclubs from the moment he arrived in the Windy City. His formative years coincided almost perfectly with the explosion of the Chicago Blues, an electric, amplified form of Delta Blues. It was here where King would get to experience the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Elmore James, all playing in their prime. It should come as no surprise therefore, that he became completely obsessed with The Blues.

Similarly to many of his contemporaries, he worked hard shifts in a steel mill whilst playing the Chicago club scene and throughout his early twenties he was repeatedly rejected from recording for Chicago’s premier Blues label, Chess, for the reason that he sounded too similar to another more established guitarist, his namesake, B.B. King.

Still he persevered, and eventually, through a combination of his powerful and soulful vocals, and sheer mastery of the guitar, he established himself as one of the key voices of Electric Blues. His unique playing style came down to the smallest of details such as the fact that he used a metal guitar pick. Somewhat unusual for the time, this ‘steel on steel’ technique was a tiny detail that made a lot of difference, giving his playing a rough, energetic sound that was truly like no other.

As a youngster, King reportedly learnt and played guitar in his room, solo, for five years before ever playing before an audience, let alone accompanying other musicians. This rigorous and determined approach to practice is clearly reflected in his music, and would suggest why he has become most well known for his excellent array of instrumental pieces, where he plays complex tunes with ease.

Such tracks that display King’s ability include the energetic instrumentals, San-Ho-Zay and Hideaway, both of which feature on his 1975 compilation album Texas Sensation. Whilst it is Going Down, his most well remembered song, that serves as an excellent example of both his incredible skill on guitar and his powerful accompanying vocals.

One of a number of Blues pioneers to emerge from outside of Mississippi, King was a proud Texan and whilst he got his start in the city of Chicago, he never forgot his roots, even earning the nickname the ‘Texas Cannonball.’ Despite arguably not possessing as far reaching influence as the other Kings, his determined approach to the craft of guitar playing makes him possibly the greatest actual musician of the three, and along with his highly underrated vocal style, he ensured his legacy as one of the greatest post-war Bluesmen.

The Three Kings

The story of the Three Kings is one of the fascinating coincidences in music. It is incredible to think that three of the greatest Blues guitarists in the history of the genre all emerged at a similar time, two of which on each other’s doorstep.

What is even more interesting is the inter relationship between these individuals, and that despite being of absolutely no relation whatsoever, all three possess some connection to one or the other. Whether it’s Albert and B.B King's brotherly bond or Freddie's Chicago recording rejection, the extent to which they share certain similarities is incredible.

It is important to state that whilst these guitarists are often, rather crudely, grouped together as the three-headed monster of Blues guitar, their individual contributions are just as important. Kings in their own right, their styles and techniques have gone on to inspire countless musicians, and transform the Blues into one of the most popular genres in music.

Pioneers of guitar playing, their mastery and passion for the instrument is simply unmatched, and is now widely studied, imitated, and adored. Whilst they may be a frontrunner for music’s most fascinating coincidence, their impact must not be overlooked, as B.B., Albert, and Freddie altered the course of popular music, each in their own unique way. They truly are The Three Kings, in every sense of the word.